Dear Editor:
In one of our previous city elections an aspiring council person was approaching voters in his ward when a constituent asked, "What party do you belong to"? "You know we do not declare party affiliation at the council level" said the politician. "Well that's all I need to know," said the homeowner/voter. Is it really? Even at the City Council level some voters demand a party loyalty test?
Not long ago a frequent Tribune letter writer criticized the Tribune for not printing stories on climate change from approved conservative political sites. The writer complained that scientific sources and the Weather Channel were getting all the ink.
A recent Kaiser health care survey found that 29 percent of Republicans said they benefited from Obamacare. The survey also reported that 75 percent of Democrats say they benefited. That's a 46-point difference!
Do you think climate change is a serious issue? It depends on your party. Is the economy a disaster? It depends on your party. Is employment up or down? It depends on your party. I could go on. For some time, we have expected party differences on abortion and minority rights. But now issues about more objective reality have become politicized.
We should consider how this has come about. What if we are interested in the best way to ventilate an attic. Should we use wind turbines, a ridge vent or individual air vents? It's a technical matter. The goal is to reduce heat and moisture from the attic in the fastest way possible. A technical discussion would lead to various ideas and a person could reach a reasonable conclusion. Sometimes we might choose a less optimal solution because of cost.
Now let us consider health care issues. According to international standards (OECD) Americans spend twice as much per person for health care as the other 30 major industrialized countries. American health care is equivalent to most other countries but it is twice as expensive. The movie "Sicko" covered all this. These are the facts. Now enter politics, monetary kickbacks and campaign contributions and suddenly this is a murky political issue.
Suddenly choosing something as simple as attic ventilation becomes a matter of party affiliation. You say that's idiotic and you would be correct. Drive a Prius or a Hummer? It could depend on your party. Political affiliation eliminates critical thinking. Facts are irrelevant. This is our current reality! It's a no-brainer world.
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